Great writing and great proofreading ability don’t commonly coexist in the same individual. In fact, many famous writers and brilliant minds were lousy spellers. Hemingway and Fitzgerald were terrible spellers. So were Agatha Christie and Jane Austen. George Washington and JFK had trouble with spelling and so did Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci. With advertising copy it’s often more than just a misspelled word, it’s the context. The error on the marquee above is more embarrassing and funnier because a school made the mistake. Below is an ad for an app associated with Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. One should probably be able to spell the name of the country you hope to lead. This obviously wasn’t Romney’s fault. It would have likely slipped by a campaign staffer who saw the word, but his or her brain autocorrected.
Our brains do that a lot. That’s why a good proofreader is difficult to find and very valuable to marketing departments. If proofreading is part of your bailiwick, we have some tips that might help you escape embarrassment.
Spellcheck is only your first line of defense
Spellcheck checks spelling. That’s good. On the other hand, the wrong word can be spelled correctly.
We have an ambitious goal.
We have an amphibious goal.
Ambitious sounds right, amphibious sounds strange, but both are spelled correctly. Spellcheck would not indicate a thing.
You can look things up online, but we also recommend you keep a dictionary within reach for spelling, along with a copy of the AP Style Guide. Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. Those manuals help with grammar.
Stay off the screen
It really is easier to proof when what you are proofing is on paper. It’s less irritating to your eyes. Reading computer screens can cause shoulder and neck strain, focusing issues, headaches and so on.
Use a red pen. Circle stuff, make notations, line things out. Write things down, don’t leave mistakes to memory or someone else’s interpretation.
We realize printing everything isn’t the environmentally friendly thing to do. If you want to stay on the screen, try using a vision friendly font. Helvetica, Verdana, Karla, Futura and Arial are among the easiest to read. Increasing the size of the font will help too.
Read backwards
Reading things backwards forces your brain to “see” each word.
Word each “see” to brain your forces backwards things reading.
See, it has ceased to be a sentence and becomes 7 words on a line. This technique works, but it’s for spelling, not syntax.
Read out loud
Reading out loud is one of the best ways to notice sentences that are clumsy or unclear. Don’t perform, it’s not a Shakespearean soliloquy. You’re looking for things that are difficult to pronounce, sentences that go nowhere, alliteration that trips up your tongue. Another technique is to record what you’re reading. Things can stand out more when you are hearing and not having to concentrate on reading.
Proofread rested
Unless it’s unavoidable, proofread when you are rested and alert. Proofreading when you are tired usually means making mistakes while looking for mistakes. That doesn’t end well.
If possible, use more than one set of eyes. Having at least one more person look things over is never a bad idea, preferably someone that hasn’t been working on the project for as long as you have.
Final thoughts
There’s an old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Quality proofreading can prevent embarrassment but, more importantly, it can avoid added costs. No client or agency wants to spot a typo or more significant mistake after thousands of brochures have been printed. If a mistake is relatively benign, the best thing to do is do better next time. Keep a supply of erasers. You can probably get some here…
